The Aftermath
by Harrietrebecca
Summary: The story is basically filling the gap between the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly hallows battle of Hogwarts and the epilogue. This goes along with J.K.Rowlings character pairings. Sorry I suck at summaries :/ but please give it a try - it is my first story
1. Chapter 1

The Aftermath 

Disclamer: J.K Rowling owns all of the characters and everything!

Please give constructive criticism this is my first story!

Sorry this is a really short chapter. As I get into the story I will try to make them longer!

Chapter 1

It had been exactly 24 hours since the end of the battle. Hogwarts castle was in a state of total disaster and wreckage from all of the fighting. The survivors had all worked together in these last few hours finding all of the bodies of the dead and placing them in rows in the great hall, along with seeing to all those injured and all starting the mourning process as what had really happened dawned upon them all.

After having had his conversation with the portrait of Professor Dumbledore, a very exhausted Harry Potter had headed to the Gryffindor tower to find his old four-poster bed into which he collapsed after the defeat of Voldemort. Ron Weasley had later seen him but decided not to disturb him as he obviously was in need of his rest.

It was now that Harry had just woken up from his deep slumber as he lay in bed and his thoughts roamed over what had happened. Could Voldemort really be gone for good? What now? He had never expected to even make it to the age of 17 with all of the trouble that seemed to surround him, let alone the fact that in just over 2 months time he would be 18. This left Harry at a total loss of what would come next in his life. He decided he would go down to the great hall to see if he could get some breakfast and to find out what state the castle was currently in.

As Harry walked down the corridor he saw a few friendly faces, such as the Patil twins and Cho Chang who smiled at him. The walls around him were crumbling away with rubble everywhere. It would definitely be a lot of hard work to ensure that this would be cleaned up in time for the new term in September. However, Harry knew that a lot of people would be prepared to put in the time and effort, himself included.

When he entered the great hall everyone went silent, just staring at him. Then they all stared standing up and cheering and clapping. It was more than Harry could take. Why he deserve their admiration and their cheers? Most of their friends and family were dead thanks to him! Harry felt such a deep sorrow at the fact that he couldn't have finished off Voldemort any sooner and therefore saved hundreds of lives. He thought of poor Teddy Lupin and how he would now have to grow up without his parents. Another orphan, thought Harry. How many orphans had been created in this war? Deep in thought, Harry didn't even notice Ginny coming over towards him until she wrapped her arms around him in a warm comforting hug.

"I'm so sorry Ginny" Harry said "it's all my fault. It's my fault Fred"….

…"shhhhh" Ginny cut him off "don't you ever let me hear you say that again. You saved us. You saved us all! You're the reason that so many of us are still alive!"

Harry looked at her. He loved her so much but knew that she was just trying to comfort him. He simply nodded but deep inside he knew that she blamed him. He let her lead him over to where the Weasley family was sitting eating breakfast together on the Gryffindor table. Molly Weasley threw her arms around him in a hug. Ron and the others just smiled at him. All except for George who stayed where he was, not eating a thing and looking like all good had been drained from the world.

Professor McGonagall chose this moment to stand up to make an announcement; "I would like to personally thank every one of you here for your help in the battle and of assisting in bringing down Voldemort. There were many valiant lives lost during the battle, but they will never be forgotten as long as we all shall live. It is my duty to announce to you that the ministry is trying to reorganise and currently is temporarily being headed by Kingsley Shacklebolt, who we are sure will do a fine job in putting everything back to order. I must also ask of you that any assistance in the repairs of the castle would be greatly appreciated, but we all understand if you need to go home. The repairs process will be starting today. I would also tell you that anyone wishing to repeat their 5th or 7th year next year is most welcome due to the ….er…. 'disruption' we faced in the current year. That is all my announcements but while I am here, I wish to say thank you to our saviour, so if everyone would raise a glass to Mr Harry Potter"

Every single person in the hall obliged and made a toast to Harry, although he knew he didn't deserve it. He just had to resign himself to the fact that this is the sort of behaviour from people towards him the future was likely to bring.


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: unfortunately I still do not own any of the characters

Thank you very much to berniegirl13 for reviewing – it is much appreciated

Chapter 2

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Neville and Ginny made their way up to the 7th floor corridor where they had been assigned to start the repairs. Lots of little groups had been devised by Professor McGonagall and were sent off to various places in the castle and grounds.

"Wow, the damage up here was worse than I thought" said Neville just as they reached the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy and the trolls just opposite the concealed entrance to the room of requirement.

"yeah, it is" agreed Ginny.

"I wonder if the room of requirement still works after the fiend fyre?" said Hermione as she looked at the place where the door should be.

"You had fiend fyre up here? Wow, you know that stuff can get really out of hand! I would be surprised if it is sill in tact!" exclaimed Ginny.

"Yeah" said Harry "it was Crabbe when he decided to revolt against Draco and kill us all. I suppose it's worth a try to see"

Harry shut his eyes and thought 3 times over – We need to see the place where the DA used to practise. He then opened his eyes and smiled as he saw a door had appeared in front of him. He stepped forwards and pushed it open. What he saw inside shocked him and the others who had followed closely behind.

The room seemed to be in a state where it was constantly shifting from place to place as everything was appearing and promptly vanishing again all around them.

"It's almost as though it's trying to repair itself" said Hermione thoughtfully."I wonder if it will be able too? There was a lot of damage to it"

"I hope so, I mean, what will the next generation of Hogwarts trouble makers do without it?" said Harry.

"You forget that we didn't discover it until our 5th year and we coped absolutely fine without it!" said Hermione "however, it would be a shame for it to be damaged forever! And talking of damage, don't you think we should get started on fixing the corridor?"

"Yeah, Hermione is right" said a downcast looking Ron, who hadn't actually said much all day "we have a lot of work to do. Maybe it will help up keep our minds off things"

So the 6 of them left the room of requirement and split up along the corridor to start repairing the damage. Harry went with Ginny as they started levitating various chunks of stone to their rightful places. Ron and Neville both started trying to repair the windows which were all smashed with glass everywhere. This left Hermione and Luna to work on repairing the shredded portraits along the wall.

Most of them worked in silence just doing their long monotonous tasks while Ginny and Harry were having a very quiet conversation.

"Are you okay Ginny?" Harry asked "Ron has been pretty quiet and upset all day. How about you? I know this must all be pretty hard. Particularly with us all acting like nothing has happened and that everything is ok"

"I'm fine thanks Harry. Of course thing are going to be tough for a long time afterwards, but I think keeping busy and thinking about other stuff is the best way to go. George is of course the one whose taken all this hardest, Fred and him were inseparable. But can we please not talk about this. Not yet anyway. I'm not ready at the moment." Was Ginny's reply. "what I really want to know about is what the 3 of you have been doing all year, I assume your allowed to tell me now?"

"Of course Ginny. Its going to be hard talking about it but I think after leaving you like that I owe you the truth. Not now though, I will tell you this evening after dinner"

"Okay thanks Harry"

They both then remained silent and continued on with their work.

At 1 o'clock the 6 of them decided enough was enough and headed back down to the great hall for lunch. They saw noticeable improvements as they made their way down, but it was evident that there was still a very long way to go, even with the huge number of willing volunteers. They passed professor McGonagall on the way as well who took them to the side.

"How are you all doing?" She asked

"As well as can be expected Professor" replied Hermione.

"Well that's something a least. Look, can I see Harry Ron and Hermione in the heads office after you've finished lunch. I think we need to have a little discussion on the past years events and your futures"

"Sure professor, we'll come straight up after we have eaten" nodded Harry.

Sorry for another short chapter. I will work on making them longer…. Promise!

Again, I would really appreciate any reviews as I think it will really help my writing knowing how to improve and also any suggestions you make could give me ideas of the direction to take this story in


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: unfortunately I still do not own any of the characters

Thank you very much to Amanda and Statsbat for reviewing

School has started back now so it will be hard to keep up with daily updates but I will try to do them as regularly as possible.

Chapter 3

After a very rushed lunch and a quick hello to the rest of the Weasleys who were returning to the burrow later, Harry, Ron and Hermione made their way up to the heads office. Harry then told the gargoyle guarding the entrance the password – Dumbledore, it evidently hadn't been changed since the night of the battle. As they entered the office, they saw Professor McGonagall behind the heads desk talking to the new temporary minister of magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Ah, here they are" said Kingsley when he saw them arrive.

"Do have a seat each of you" said professor McGonagall as she took out her wand and with it drew 3 chairs which then appeared out of thin air. Harry noticed that these chairs were nothing like the comfy pink ones Dumbledore always used to conjure – these were wooden and hard backed.

"I expect you'll understand why but we really do need to know exactly what you 3 have been up to this year, if you would care to explain?" enquired Kingsley

"Ok" said Harry "but it's a bit of a long story"

"That's alright, we have plenty of time" assured McGonagall

So Harry started to tell them about everything that had happened right from his 6th year and the secret lessons he had been receiving from Dumbledore. When he explained about the horcruxes both adults looked amazed and terrified at the same time. He then went on to tell about their quest to hunt them down and destroy him, with the occasional assistance of Ron and Hermione adding information where they thought it necessary. Ron looked down in shame when Harry told about him leaving, but Harry made sure he made that section of the retelling as brief as possible to help avoid his friend's discomfort. Ron smiled up at him in gratitude. When they got to the end of their tale, McGonagall had tears in eyes as she thought about everything they had gone through – they were only just 18, and in Harry's case still only 17! And Harry had had to face the killing curse again, and all alone!

There was a moment of silence when the adults both just thought about what thy heard. "I think it would be better for the whole wizarding world if when we tell people what happened we do not mention the horcruxes" said Kingsley thoughtfully. "Voldemort must have really had to search hard to find the information about them; we don't want information on the topic to be freely available to anyone in the future who wants to follow in his footsteps. Particularly when at the moment most of the public will have never heard of a horcrux. We don't want to bring it to their attention. However, are you completely sure that you got all of them so that there is no way that he can possibly come back?"

"Yes sir, we're sure" said Harry assertively.

"Well now that's dealt with we can move on to the second reason we wanted to see you" said McGonagall "have any of you got any idea of what you want to do next year? You heard me this morning announce that you would be welcome to come back next year and take your NEWTs. What do you think?"

"I would also like to give you another option to consider." Said Kingsley, jumping in before any of them had a chance to answer McGonagall "I have been told that Harry and Ron you both cherish ambitions to become aurors? You have certainly proven that you have the skill to become such, and you Hermione. I thin you would all be excellent additions to the new team we are putting together, particularly since the ministry is rather bare at the moment and we need to completely re -staff with competent people to replace the death eaters. We would be happy to take all 3 of you on with no NEWTs. I was also going to announce the same thing to the rest of your DA, I heard that they are all very well trained."

"Thank you sir, but I have never wanted to be an auror. I just don't think its me" said Hermione "I also think that NEWTs are very important qualifications so I think I will be returning to Hogwarts next year. Harry and Ron are going to do the same aren't you?" she said forcefully

"Well, yeah, if Hermione's coming back I suppose I should too" said Ron looking at Harry

"Well, if that is your decision Mr Weasley, please know that we would be happy to take you on in a year's time after your NEWTs. The same goes for you Hermione. Is there any particular area of the ministry that you would be interested in working in?" said Kingsley hopefully, although looking a bit downcast at the idea he would have to wait a year for them.

"That's a very kind offer sir" said a very pleased looking Hermione "I have always been interested in the rights of various magical creatures, say house elves for example"

"A position could certainly be arranged for you in the department of control of magical creatures. You would be a great asset to the team. What say you Harry? Are you going to finish Hogwarts or leave?"

"I think that personally I am ready to leave Hogwarts. After the battle I have too many bad memories here. I don't know if I could stand it." Replied Harry

"So you will join the auror office?" inquired Kingsley hopefully

"Yeah, it's what I have always wanted to do" said Harry

"But what about your NEWTs Harry! They are incredibly important exams!" exclaimed Hermione

"Come on Hermione, he's Harry Potter! Everyone knows everything he can do! He doesn't need NEWTs to prove it! It's his decision" said Ron

"yeah, I'm gunna leave. It will be strange not coming back but I'll visit you both" Said Harry

"Well if you are sure Mr Potter, we are still here if you change your mind. But it will be great to have you other 2 back for another year" Said professor McGonagall wearing that rare smile she only gave the best pupils. "Well then, I think that's everything sorted, you 3 are free to go"

"Thanks professor, minister" the 3 chorused as they got up and left the office.

I managed to do a slightly longer chapter this time!

As always please read and review


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: unfortunately I still do not own any of the characters

Thank you very much to Inimbi and Statsbat for reviewing chapter 3

Chapter 4

"Harry! You do realize how important NEWTs are don't you? I really think you should talk to Kingsley and reconsider dropping out of school. It would only mean putting off joining the aurors for 1 year as you know they will take you the moment you leave school anyway regardless of your grades" Hermione nagged as she had been for the past 3 days solid since their meeting with the minister and Professor McGonagall. She wasn't going to give up easily.

"I know Hermione, but why wait? This is what I want to do. Why leave it any longer? The ministry is in desperate need of aurors at the moment. Voldemort may be gone but there are still hundreds of death eaters who escaped at the end of the battle and who are still stirring up trouble. I might as well help in any way I can rather than hanging around at school." Replied a very frustrated Harry.

The 3 of them along with a hundred or so other volunteers had been working relentlessly on fixing up the castle in the past few days. But the entire time Harry had had Hermione constantly pushing him to change his mind. As much as Harry liked the idea of another year to doss around and maybe for once just be like normal people with the worst thing to worry about being homework deadlines and exams. But Harry knew in his heart that he wouldn't really be able to do. Not after a year of being out of school and fighting. As much as he wanted to be like normal people, Harry was beginning to understand that he never would be normal. It just wasn't him. His was a fighter down to the last bone in his body. He also knew that the only reason Ron was returning was so that he could spend another year with his girlfriend, as he and Hermione had sorted out their differences at long last and were official. When the pair of them told Harry his only comment was finally!

As of 2 days ago they were no longer living at Hogwarts. All 3 of them had moved into the burrow and were travelling back and forth every morning and evening. The first time they had got there, however, there was a huge shock to all of them. This was the first time any of them had been there in months as the Weasleys had been staying at their Aunt Muriel's place as there was a lot more space and enchantments to keep them safe. They hadn't realised how important it was that they had gone there until they saw the state that it was in. The garden was a mess with broken glass and furniture everywhere. They could see that a huge chunk of wall was missing from the second floor. As they walked up to the door they saw that it was barely hanging from its hinges. Inside was a similar state of disaster. On the wall in the kitchen was a message written in something red that looked suspiciously like blood. It said 'WE WILL GET YOU NEXT TIME BLOOD TRAITORS'. Everything around them was broken and scattered around all throughout the house. Although it didn't take very long to repair the place, the fact that the death eaters had been in their and defiled their house disturbed them all. Thankfully the house was now liveable in so they were all able to stay there once the protective enchantments had been replaced around the house.

When at the burrow there was always a very subdued atmosphere as the loss of Fred was finally starting to hit them all. Molly Weasley was known to suddenly burst into tears at any moment. Meanwhile Arthur spent a lot of his time in his workshop on his own. Charlie seemed to be holding up fairly well, but anyone who knew him well could see in his eyes the deep pain he was concealing within him. Bill had been at shell cottage for the past few days with his wife fleur, so no-one had really seen him for a while, except of course when he was helping at Hogwarts. Percy had been putting all of his time and effort into repairs and helping anyway he could as he felt such remorse at how he had abandoned his family. Deep inside he blamed himself for Fred's death as he had come along and distracted him. In Percy's mind, had Fred not been talking to him, he may have seen what was going to happen with the wall. Ron was no longer his usual jokey self. He was a lot quieter than usual and spent a fair amount of time in a corner talking quietly to Hermione. Ginny was, like her mother, also very tearful. This was a strange concept for Harry to see her cry, as she had always been so strong having grown up with 6 brothers. She always sought Harry for comfort. However, the Weasley who seemed to be suffering most was George. He had not left his room since he got there after the battle. He refused to let anyone in his room to talk to him and refused all food brought up. The others were getting seriously worried and were trying to work out how to help him. It most certainly did not help that the rare few times he had been spotted everyone found it so hard to look at him because he was so like Fred. In fact to George every mirror had become a mirror of Erised as he could see his twin brother looking back at him.

Harry and Ginny were growing close again and Harry was deeply in love with her. He knew how much it had hurt her when she left – according to the other Weasleys she had been having nightmares all year and woke up most nights screaming. It would then take one of the family a while before they could calm her down. These nightmares stopped after Harry's return, of which she was grateful for.

It was on the 5th day after the battle that Ron and Hermione came downstairs to breakfast with and announcement. Hermione's parents were still in Australia with the belief that they were Wendell and Monica Wilkins. It was the intention of Ron and Hermione to travel there together before school started so they could remove the memory block Hermione had placed on them and bring them home. Molly Weasley was appalled at the idea that they would go all that way unprotected.

"I really think you should just leave it to the aurors to do that. It is far too dangerous. I'm sure if you contacted Kingsley and gave him a picture he could get a trip out there organised" Molly insisted

"With all due respect Mrs Weasley, this is really something I think I should do. Ron volunteered to come with me. I am sure we would be fine. We can take care of ourselves" said Hermione very carefully avoiding Mrs Weasley's disapproving look.

Harry felt slightly disheartened that his 2 best friends would be leaving without him. They had always gone everywhere together. This was one of the times he felt a bit like a third wheel in their relationship. However, he thought that this would mean that he could spend more alone time with Ginny before she went back to school without Ron's disapproving glares every 5 minutes.

"Well I would at least feel better about it if you were to have an auror accompanying you" said Mrs Weasley still muttering to herself about how she didn't approve. "I will ask Kingsley about it tomorrow"

And on that note Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Charlie and Percy left the house to go and do another hard days work of repairs at Hogwarts.

That was my longest chapter so far!

As always please review – it motivates me to write more chapters, and if you have any good ideas of what you think should happen they might just end up in the story if you review with them.

Or just tell me about any things in the future in the story you are looking forward to – e.g. the weddings


	5. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: unfortunately I still do not own any of the characters L

Thank you very much to Statsbat Kes13 and Inimbi for reviewing chapter 4 J

Also thanks to Inimbi who is my beta reader – she is currently editing this chapter but it might take a while so I thought I would post it now anyway as I have had so many story alerts I didn't want to keep you waiting an longer than you already have for this chapter! After she has finished an improved grammar version will replace this one!

Chapter 5

It was exactly 1 week later and Ron and Hermione were due to set off to Australia in 2 hours. It had taken a lot of pleading to Mrs. Weasley from them before they finally had her convinced that they would be ok. They had, however, had to give in and were being accompanied on the trip by 2 aurors after Mrs. Weasley had spoken to Kingsley about it.

The repairs in the castle were coming along very well but it was going to be a tight schedule to ensure that it would be ready for the start of the new term on the 1st of September. Harry had been spending all day every day working as hard as he could, and then he would return back to the burrow to spend time with his girlfriend Ginny. However this morning Harry had remained at the burrow later than usual so that he could see Ron and Hermione off. He knew that it would be strange not having the pair of them around, particularly after the 3 of them had spent the past year living in a tent together in close confinement. It was also the first time that had ever left him behind when going out to do anything. Harry wasn't too worried though. He knew that this would just mean extra time he could spend with Ginny.

At 11 o clock there was a knock on the door of the burrow and in came 2 burly looking aurors. One was very tall with blonde hair and the other was a lot shorter with brown hair and a much larger complexion. The taller of the 2 was Auror Savage and the other was Auror Proudfoot. Both of them looked quite intimidating and both were battle worn – they were covered in scars from various encounters they had had.

"Ron, are you ready yet? The aurors are here!" Molly Weasley yelled up the stairs to Ron.

"I'll be down in a minute!" Ron yelled back.

Harry heard all of the shouting and so he decided to be sociable and go and meet his future colleagues. Ginny followed closely behind Harry into the kitchen. Hermione and the aurors were sitting around the kitchen table, while Molly Weasley was bustling around making cups of tea for them. Harry and Ginny went and joined them at the table.

"Hi, I'm Harry Potter" said Harry to the aurors, holding out his hand to shake the auror's. (Does this sound ok? I am not sure about the phasing as though it seems as though Harry is going to shake the aurors or shake their hands?)

"Oh we know who you are" Said Savage "it is of my understanding that you will soon be joining the team?"

"Yes sir" Said Harry

"I'm sure that you will make a great addition to the team after you have had the proper training" said Proudfoot.

"Thank sir you. I will do my best" replied Harry.

"Ah, that reminds me. Minister Shacklebolt asked me if I would request to you that you go to the ministry on Monday at 12 o clock and the minister will show you around the headquarters and introduce you to the team. I do believe that he is desperate to get you started as soon as possible. Merlin only knows we need all the help we can get." Proudfoot said.

"Ok, thanks sir, I'll be there" said Harry smiling.

At this point Mrs. Weasley had finished making the tea so passed it around. "How long does it take for Ronald to get sorted?" she said in an exasperated voice "I told him to make sure that he finished packing yesterday so he would be ready this morning!" She then yelled up the stairs again "FOR MERLIN'S SAKE HURRY UP RONALD!"

"I TOLD YOU I AM COMING" was the yelled reply she got back.

20 minutes later Ron finally appeared down the stairs.

"Sorry" he said sheepishly, I hadn't realised how early you were coming.

"Well at least we can _now_ get on the move" said a slightly annoyed Savage.

"Are you both ready to go?" asked Proudfoot "We are taking a portkey from just a few miles away from here. We cannot do the whole journey in one or aparrate the entire way because it can be extremely tiring and damaging. Our first portkey goes from Stoatstead Hill and will take us to Venice in Italy. Then we will have one which goes to Egypt followed by another to Oman. We will then take a big leap to Thailand which is where we will stay the night in Bangkok, as that section of the journey will be very exhausting. The next morning we will go to Indonesia and then we will be able to take one to Sydney. We have been doing some research and we believe that Sydney is where your parents are. They seem to have set up a dental surgery there. "

"Yes, we are ready. Thank you very much sirs" said Hermione.

Just as they were about to leave Mrs Weasley became very tearful. She had already lost one son and another was now going off to unknown countries for an unknown period of time. She had wanted them to stay longer because she didn't think she could cope with this separation and the uncertainties so soon after the defeat of Voldemort and the death of Fred.

"Its ok mum! We'll be back soon" said Ron

"I know, I will just miss you" said Mrs Weasley

"See you" said Harry

"Good luck" said Ginny

And with that the 4 travellers walked out of the door and left the burrow.

"How about we go for a walk, cheer ourselves up?" suggested Harry to Ginny

"Sure, good idea" replied Ginny.

"First can you take some tea up to George" said Mrs Weasley "I still don't think he's eating and we really do need to something to make sure he is ok" said Mrs Weasley.

"Sure", said Harry as he took the tea and headed upstairs.

"George?" He said hesitantly "George? Are you in there? Are you ok?

No reply

"Look, its Harry. I am just bringing you up a cup of tea ok. Can I come in?"

Still no answer

"ummm, ok then" said Harry, unsure of what to say next to try to get some communication from him "well how about I just leave it out here then?"

Silence

"Ok, I am just leaving the tea outside your door, come and get it when you want it" Harry put the mug down on the floor and took out his wand. He did a quick spell to ensure that the tea would remain hot and then went downstairs to go on his walk with Ginny.

Thanks again for ready. Sorry it took so long to update, I have had things going on. As it's the weekend I will try to update more often.

And as always please read and review. Constructive criticism is always welcome


	6. Chapter 6

DISCLAIMER: unfortunately I still do not own any of the characters L

Thank you very much to Statsbat for reviewing chapter 4 J (you have reviewed every chapter so far !)

Also thanks to Inimbi who is my beta reader – This has not been read through but after she has finished an improved grammar version will replace this one!

Chapter 6

It was a Sunday, the day before Harry was due to go in and visit the auror office. Ron and Hermione had been gone for several days now and Harry hadn't heard anything from either of them. But he wasn't worried, he knew they would be safe with the aurors and would be back very soon. Over the past few days Harry had had a wonderful time with his girlfriend playing quidditch (they had gone into Diagon Alley and Harry had bought himself a new firebolt) along with spending some time lying out in the sunshine. Professor McGonagall had banned Harry from Hogwarts as she said he had been spending far too much time helping with the cleanup and he really had done enough to help the war effort. Although this was annoying at first for Harry he was definitely feeling the benefits of, for the first time in his life, just being able to relax.

Over the past few days Harry had been in regular correspondence with Andromeda Tonks who was currently looking after his godson Teddy Lupin. It was when things had started to quieten down for Harry that he realised that he had never actually met his godson and he was determined to be as good a godfather to Teddy as Sirius had been to him. Well, except for the being in Azkaban for 12 years part, thought Harry. He had organised to go and see him later that day after he had spent the morning shopping determined to find the perfect present for the little boy.

Harry got to the Tonks household at exactly 2:00pm. He knocked on the door to be greeted by an exhausted looking Andromeda.

"Ah, Harry" she said with a slight smile on her face "it's good to see you and I am sure that Teddy will love to meet his godfather"

"It's good to see you to Andromeda. How are you holding up?" replied Harry as she ushered him through the door into the living room.

"As well as can be expected, you know, considering the circumstances" replied a forlorn looking Andromeda "can I get you anything to drink?"

"No thanks, yes, it must be tough. I am sorry I didn't come earlier. There has been so much going on. I didn't think I would make it for another week with all the funerals happening next week. It was lucky I had today free. I would like to be able to play a role in Teddy's life though, if you'll permit it?" asked Harry.

"Of course, you know, I am getting on in years and having to look after a child as young as Teddy is can be a huge task. I will take any help I can possibly get! He is currently having a nap next door. Come, through this way" she said leading him through into the nursery that she had set up for Teddy.

When Harry entered the room his eyes were immediately drawn to a crib in which a tiny boy lay. He had sandy blond hair and his face was very much like his mothers. Harry couldn't get over how sweet he looked lying there fast asleep.

"As he is so young he cannot control his looks yet as Nymphadora used to. So I think his hair colour tends to reflect his mood and his eye colour the people around him. I believe that this is his natural hair colour as it always goes blond when he is sleeping or in a very relaxed state" said Andromeda quietly.

It was as this moment, as Harry watched little Teddy Remus Lupin, he knew that he would do whatever it would take to keep this little boy safe and to make sure that he grew up happy and healthy and knowing how very much he was loved. As Harry stood over Teddy watching him, those two little arms stretched out and a yawn came from him, closely followed by the fluttering of two tiny little eyelids as Teddy woke up. He immediately made eye contact with Harry, his eyes turning from a vivid blue to an emerald green, the exact same shade as Harry's.

Andromeda saw this and smiled "He obviously likes you" she said as they watched Teddy's hair turn a turquoise colour.

"Can I hold him?" asked Harry

"Of course" she said picking up Teddy "Here, you have to support his head and his body" she said as she showed Harry the correct way to hold the infant.

Harry was at first over whelmed by how soft and light he was, not to mention the fact that being around small children was an alien concept to him. The silence was broken by the sound of Teddy laughing at the look on Harry's face.

"He's adorable" said Harry quietly as he gently cradled the giggling baby. "Look what I've got for you Teddy" He said as he took the toy that he had spent the morning choosing out of his pocket. It was a soft cuddly toy wolf which was about the same size as Teddy. "This, Teddy, is Moony" he said as he passed the toy over to him. Teddy had a big grin on his face as he clutched the wolf closely to his body and his hair turned his mother's favourite shade of bubblegum pink.

"That's very sweet of you Harry" said Andromeda smiling "but you didn't have to get him anything"

"It's ok, I wanted to. I'm his godfather so that means I get to spoil him rotten!" said Harry with a big grin on his face as he saw how happy Teddy was.

Harry spent a few hours playing in the nursery with Teddy before tears started to appear in Teddy's eyes. At this point Andromeda had gone upstairs to sort a few things out but Harry was completely clueless as to what he had done to make Teddy upset. By this point Teddy was whaling and his hair was bright red. Andromeda came running downstairs in panic and when she saw Harry and Teddy she laughed at how clueless Harry was.

"I didn't do anything! We were just playing and then he suddenly started crying!"

"Its ok, he's just hungry" said Andromeda. "I'll go get him a bottle"

And she soon returned with a bottle of milk and she showed Harry how to feed him. As Teddy was becoming fuller his hair made its way back to turquoise again.

Harry sent another few hours with Andromeda and Teddy, which even included Harry learning how to do the dreaded nappy change, before he realised that he really should return home to the burrow.

"Thanks for having me Andromeda" he said

"That's fine, you've been a great help looking after Teddy. I'll have you trained up to look after him soon enough" she said smiling "same time next week?"

"That would really be great thanks" said Harry "Bye Andromeda, bye Teddy" he said giving them both a wave.

And on that note Harry walked to the end of the footpath and disapprated.

Sorry for the delay. With this chapter I thought it had been far too long and Harry hadn't seen Teddy, so I thought he should be brought back into the story.

Next chapter – Harry's meeting with the minister

As always please read and review


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks again to Statsbat for reviewing chapter 6!**

**Reviews are really appreciated and they help encourage me to write more regular updates (hint hint) also hopeful with reviews my writing might actually improve so you would therefore end up with a better story! So reviewing does benefit you! Thanks everyone who has continued reading to this point **

Chapter 7

It was 11:45 on Monday morning as Harry Potter was making his way into the ministry of magic for his scheduled meeting with the minister. He got into the lift and made his way to the basement level 1 which is where the minister's office was. There was a female receptionist sitting at a desk writing outside the door to the office. She saw Harry approaching.

"Ah, Mr Potter sir, I'm honoured to meet you. We at the ministry can't thank you enough for everything you have done for us! Minister Shacklebolt told me to send you in as soon as you got here" she said all in a fluster signalling towards the door.

"Thank you very much ma'am" replied Harry smiling as he walked past her and knocked on the door of the office.

"Come in" came a voice from behind the door

So Harry pushed the door open and in he went.

"Ah Harry, good to see you again" said Kingsley Shacklebolt, minister of magic.

"And you sir" replied Harry. Harry had rarely actually ever gotten on with each minister of magic. Looking at the past record of Cornelius Fudge who had tried to ridicule Harry and make him out to be a deluded lying, attention seeking child, Rufus Scrimgeour who wanted to use Harry as a 'poster boy' for the ministry and Pius Thicknesse, who being under the control of the imperius curse from death eaters, never really had much of a chance to get Harry's support. Kingsley Shacklebolt, however, was the exception to the rule. He had been a member of the order of the Phoenix and had been strongly fighting against Voldemort, not to mention the fact that he helped mislead the ministry as to the whereabouts of Sirius Black, Harry Potter's godfather. Harry had a great amount of respect for the man and knew that he would make a great minister.

As Harry entered the room he saw another man present that he did not recognise.

"This is Gawain Robards, Harry" said Kingsley as if he had read Harry's mind. "He is the new head of aurors that I have appointed. He will be helping in your training"

"Oh, nice to meet you sir" said Harry extending his hand to shake Robards'.

"Well, why don't you give Harry a tour of the department?" said Kingsley to Robards.

"Yes of course, right this way Potter" He said as he stood up and made his way to the door of the office.

"Come back her when you are finished" said Kingsley to them as they left.

"Right. Lets get things straight right from the off, shall we Potter?" said Robards in a menacing voice to Harry after they were safely out of the way of the minister's office on the way to the auror department.

"Ummmm, ok sir" said Harry hesitantly.

"In the aurors we are all equals. I don't give a damn about who has done what or how famous they are. They still get treated just like everyone else. If you get the worst night shifts, deal with it. I don't want you thinking you can just waltz in here like you own the place and have all the sway. I know the minister thinks your all amazing and some 'wonder-boy', but to me you are a teenage boy with no qualifications other than a few OWLs who has been allowed to skip the auror tests and get a free pass in. You better bloody prove yourself to be worth it. If you screw this up you are straight off the team. Got it?" Robards said to Harry in a threatening voice.

"Yes sir, I honestly don't want special treatment" said Harry quickly.

"Well I bloody hope not, coz you ain't getting it." Came Robards retort.

They then walked in silence to basement level 2 where the headquarters were based. There was a long corridor with small cubicles, one belonging to each auror. Most of them had them decorated slightly with pictures or newspaper articles to add their own personal touches.

"This is your cubicle" Said Robards as they got to the very end of the used ones.

"Thank you sir" said Harry. He noticed that hardly any of the cubicles seemed to have an owner "there are less aurors than I thought" he said

"Well what were you expecting? In case you hadn't noticed there has been a bloody war on! Half of them were killed. Half of the ministry was killed. Why do you think the minister is so heavy on recruitment at the moment? Why do you think we are have to employ school drop-outs who are somewhat lacking in the required NEWTs!" replied an exasperated Robards.

"Sorry, I just thought that there would be more" said Harry defiantly. He didn't like auror Robards and his attitude towards Harry was starting to piss him off.

"Well you thought WRONG didn't you?" said an angry Robards.

Harry bit back his retort he was going to make simply on the grounds that this was his new boss and he didn't want to get in his bad books any more that he already obviously was.

Robards led Harry into a side room that Harry hadn't noticed until they walked straight into it. As Harry looked into the room his mood immediately lightened at what he saw. There was all manner of fighting and training equipment that anyone (even an auror) could ever possibly need. It was a large space perfect for training and was full of dark detectors and dummies which had different settings for different fighting levels for the aurors to practice on. He walked around the room and Harry knew immediately that this is where he was meant to be and he could not wait to get training.

"It's time to go back to the minister's office" said Robards bringing Harry out of his day dreamy state.

"OK" he replied

"You do not talk to me like that! I know you are just out of school but you must always respond with sir, so in that instance your response should have been 'yes sir'" replied Robards rudely.

"Yes sir" said Harry rather irritably

They then made their way up to the minister's office in silence. Robards knocked on the door and Kingsley called them in.

"So Harry, what did you think?" Asked Kingsley as Harry and Robards sat down.

"The training room is amazing" responded Harry truthfully

"Ah, excellent, I remember myself when I first saw it. You will spend a fair amount of time their while you are just getting into the swing of things." Replied Kingsley "Right, I know that most of the funerals are going on this week from the battle, so I presume you will be wanting to attend them. How about you start next Monday? Be into the ministry 9:00am sharp?"

"That sounds perfect sir" said Harry

"Brilliant, well I suppose I better let you go now then, there is lots of work to be done" said Kingsley smiling.

"Thank you for the opportunity sir, I really appreciate it" said Harry, glancing at Robards as he turned and left the office.

Harry left the ministry and apparated back to the burrow. He yelled into the house "I'm home" as he let himself in.

"Harry!" said Ginny as she came running into the room and grabbed him into a huge hug. "how did it go?" she asked

"alright." Replied Harry "although I don't think that I am going to get on with my new boss very well" said Harry

"Why? What happened?" asked a genuinely concerned Ginny

Harry then went on to explain Robards attitude towards him to Ginny. She was getting visibly more and more angry.

"That bastard! Well, he does know you. You c prove him wrong she said"

"yeah, hopefully" replied Harry, not looking forward to his first day of work with Robards.

**Thanks for reading **

**You may have been surprised at the reaction of auror Robards towards Harry, but my reasoning was that, yes, Harry saved the world and defeated Voldemort so the vast majority of people are going to love him, BUT there will always be cynics and someone as famous as Harry is never going to have 100% of people liking him. Unfortunately for Harry though, the first cynic he has found is head of his office...**

**In the next chapter I am going to be covering the funerals – get all the really sad bits over in one chapter.**

**Please read and review I will give you metaphorical cookies ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters **

**I am SOOOOO SORRY! The summer was so busy and then back to school I had work and stuff to sort out! But here is the next chapter for those of you who haven't given up on me :/ **

**Sorry if the quality of this chapter is not very good – it was written while on a 6 hour aeroplane journey! **

**Thank you very much to ****these people for reviewing chapter 7: **

**Eclipticvibe**

**DanielWhite**

**Statsbat**

**TrueLoveIs4ever**

**Justanothermuggle's fan**

**As well as two guests **

**THANK YOU! **

Chapter 8

"Today we say goodbye to two wonderful people. They have only been married for one year and have a small, now orphaned, son. Teddy Remus Lupin who is now parentless thanks to the terrors that the war has brought. Remus and Nymphadora Lupin were both incredibly brave and were willing to give their lives in the battle of Hogwarts to secure our futures. Remus was outcast during his life due to his, ah, affliction. Nymphadora - or as she preferred to be referred to as - Tonks was a very young, but very brilliant auror for the ministry of magic during the lead up to the war. Neither will be forgotten, and we will always remember them in our hearts."

Harry wiped the tears from his eyes as he sat at the funeral of Remus and Tonks. Ginny was sitting next to him silently crying, and Andromeda Tonks was on the other side of Ginny with a sleeping Teddy on her lap. She looked a wreck, she had been taking the loss of her husband, daughter and son-in-law very hard.

The rest of the surviving members of the order of the Phoenix and the DA sat close behind.

The day had been incredibly hard for Harry and the others. This was the 5th funeral Harry had been to that day - he was determined to make as many as possible. Due to the sheer number of funerals that had to take place, some had had to be at the same time in different places. The DA had coordinated to ensure that there were always at least two members representing them at every single funeral.

Harry thought about the past few days, he had been to so many funerals. Fred's was supposed to have been tomorrow (Friday), however it was postponed in order to allow Ron to attend as he was currently still in Australia. Now it was scheduled for next Saturday instead.

It was at this point the funeral master finished his speech about Remus and Tonks and people started to get up and were murmuring quietly to each other.

"Harry, would you mind looking after Teddy for a bit? So I can, you know, go and say... Goodbye..." Asked a very tearful Andromeda.

"Of course, take all the time you need" replied Harry quietly, taking Teddy from her.

"It's so horrible, isn't it" said Ginny to Harry "poor little Teddy has to grow up without any parents. And Remus and Tonks were such good people" tears were pouring from her eyes.

"I know" replied Harry quietly. "We just have to be there for him as much as we can and make sure that he grows up knowing what great people they were and why they had to give up their lives"

Ginny nodded slowly. "Are you going to any more funerals today Harry?"

"Yes, Colin Creevy's funeral is at 5 o clock and Snape's is at 7" he replied.

"You're going to Snape's?!"

"He was a good man Ginny. He was on our side all along, even if he was a greasy dungeon bat most of the time, he still fought for us. I also have a feeling that not many people will go, his true allegiance wasn't widely known"

"I suppose you are right. Still, whatever side he was on, he will always be the greasy dungeon bat"

"I take it you won't be joining me then?" Asked Harry smiling slightly. "You know of course I will come. I'm sticking with you whatever"

"Thanks" said Harry.

Andromeda appeared back over next to them "Was Teddy ok?" She asked slightly worried.

"Good as gold, we barely noticed him here, he has just been asleep" was Harry's reply as he passed Teddy back over to her.

"Thanks for watching him. I should really be getting him home, he will be waking up hungry any time now"

"Ok, see you on Sunday" said Harry.

"We better be off as well Harry, we don't want to be late to Colin's funeral" said Ginny taking Harry by the hand and leading him off.

Colin's funeral went by just like all the others had, except for the fact it was held by muggles, so there were no drinks floating around and pouring themselves into glasses for people. Also the vicar was incredibly vague as to how Colin had actually died, due to the fact he had died in a wizard's war, so it could very well not be announced in the muggle world. Dennis was, as expected, a complete wreck. He had always looked up to his big brother for his bravery and was in awe of his apparent 'friendship' of the famous Harry Potter. His parents came over and thanked Harry as Dennis had told then what had happened, he had made it sound as though Harry was some great hero.

Harry didn't feel like a hero. In fact he felt quite the opposite. Had he found a solution to finish Voldemort faster, there wouldn't be a need for all of these funerals. Ginny squeezed his hand in an encouraging way as Harry told Colin's parents of how great he was, and how Colin was, in fact, himself a hero. They thanked him again for his kindness.

Half an hour later found Harry and Ginny sitting in the front row of the funeral of one Severus Snape. Luna and dean had come as extra representatives for the DA. The entire order of the Phoenix was present. The room was only 1/4 full. Many people didn't know of Snape's true loyalties. To them he was just the evil death eater who killed Albus Dumbledore instead of the spy for the order constantly risking his life to save them all. The minister was listing his numerous potions achievements and how great they were. This man didn't understand thought Harry. He was in no way capturing the real bravery or the real things Snape had done for them all. At the end Harry stood up and said "I you don't mind, I'd like to say a few words about the professor"

He then walked up to the podium. "Severus Snape was never like by many. He always preferred to be on his own, in the dungeons. He was a master of concealing his emotions. He kept himself to himself most of the time. In fact, I believe that very few people knew him for the real him, instead of the facade he puts up for the world. The truth is, professor Snape was in love. He spent his entire life in love with my mother, Lily potter. He made one mistake in his childhood which pushed her away and then he regretted and paid for it for the rest of his life. Then she does and he dedicated his entire life against Voldemort, doing everything he could for our side at great personal risk. Severus Snape was a great man right to the end and he deserves to be honored properly, just like the war hero he is." Harry finished and got down from the podium. There were a lot of approving nods from the audience as they all began to get up and leave.

"That was a great thing you said Harry" said Kingsley Shacklebolt as he walked over

"Snape was a good man and people need to hear it" said Harry "is there any way we can get his portrait put up among the other headmasters and headmistresses in the headmasters study? He was only there for a short period of time, but he still did his best to protect the students despite the circumstances"

"Yes you're right. I'll see what can be done about it" replied Kingsley "well, I must be off, see you bright and early Monday morning"

"Yeah, see you" replied Harry

"Come on, let's get back to the burrow. I'm sure mum will cook us up some comfort food after another stressful day" said Ginny as they together made their way home.

**As always constructive criticism is very welcome!**


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